Purpose

To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net

Monday, October 21, 2013

Man Dies Along the Blue Line; Safety Improvements Are Planned for Next Year

The Blue Line passes within inches of the gates at Vernon at a fairly high speed.

On Friday, September 27th, shortly after 6 p.m., 37 year-old Zenon
Vazquez opened the gate and stepped in front of the Blue Line train at
Vernon.

It’s hard to understand how that can happen, given how loud the
signal bells are, and the fact that you either have to duck under the
pedestrian barrier bar (above left) or open one of the gates. The train
passes so close, in fact, that even if you were both deaf and blind,
you’d probably still be able to feel it coming.

So, it’s not surprising that there are some conflicting accounts of what happened that evening.
Some witnesses say the man was possibly distracted and looking the
wrong way. Metro informs me some of their witnesses saw Vazquez and
another man walk out of a liquor store toward the station. The companion
stopped at the gate, while Vazquez proceeded on through. Whether anyone
said anything to try to keep him from doing so is unknown. However,
both accounts seem to discourage the notion that the death was a
suicide, and one implies intoxication may have been a factor. The
coroner says a full report is still pending.

A trip to the Vernon station, however, did offer some clues.

As I stood taking photos of the pedestrian gates, several people walked right through, even as the signals were going off.

It happens all the time, said the older couple that have a vendor stand on the east side of the tracks.
They were still set up on the corner when the incident occurred that Friday, but they hadn’t witnessed it.

Although they felt it was very unfortunate, they were only surprised it didn’t happen more often.
It had happened shortly after the Metro Safety Ambassador had left
for the day, they explained. When no one is around to monitor the area,
people are much less likely to obey the signals.

The craziest thing, they said, was that people were jumping between
the cars of the stopped train (once the man had been struck), determined
to get around it to wherever they had to go. Nevermind that they could
have tripped and stumbled into the path of a northbound train.

Both of them shook their heads in dismay.

They have no regard for signals, the older gentleman told me
in Spanish, proving his point by pointing at a family with young kids
crossing the intersection against the light.

It doesn’t make sense, he said. There are more than enough safety devices; people just need to start paying attention to them.

Speaking of safety devices, in my last look at safety along the Blue Line,
I discussed Metro’s agreement with Union Pacific that would allow Metro
to install additional gates and signage along the UP side of the
crossings. UP had balked at the idea until recently, afraid that being
asked to upgrade safety measures in one city would mean they would be
asked to do the same along the thousands of miles of track they own
across the country.

The
intersection at Vernon is generally uncomfortable for pedestrians and
cyclists, given the narrowness of Vernon, the fact that you must not
only cross four tracks, but also Long Beach Ave. (which straddles the
tracks) before you can get to the safety of a sidewalk or regular travel
lane.

Metro had hoped to have those plans for upgrades ready for bid this
past July. As of now, it appears that plans for improvements, including
pedestrian gates and swing gates at 27 intersections, won’t be out to
bid until next spring. Meaning, construction won’t start until next
summer at the earliest and should be completed by February 2016.

And while that is heartening (if slow-paced), none of the improvements would have done much to help in Vazquez’ case.

While there is no question that Vernon intersection itself is a
highly uncomfortable crossing for pedestrians or cyclists, Vazquez
stepped into the train’s path at the one corner where there are gates,
barriers, and very loud signals.

His is the fifth death along the Blue Line this year, three of which have been determined to be suicides.